


Blossoms

by Prim_pie (orphan_account)



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Boys In Love, Coming Out, Eventual Romance, Feel-good, Fluff, Gay, Gay Male Character, M/M, Romance, Small Towns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:35:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24225949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Prim_pie
Summary: Patrick wasn't looking for love, he was looking for an escape. But what happens when he finds someone who challenges him in all the right ways? Will he have the confidence to face it? Slash. Be prepared for fluff, snark and happy endings. More details inside!
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/Original Male Character(s), Theodore "Ted" Mullens & David Rose
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. Small Town

_Hey everyone! Very excited to get a new Fanfic started. After almost a decade of translating instead of writing, I'm taking a stab at a new story._

_I immediately fell in love with Patrick, because lets all admit it, he's the perfect boyfriend. During the show I absolutely adore the David and Patrick dynamic, but I'm looking to do something a little different here. What if Patrick didn't always have to be the strong one? What if he found stability from someone else in Schitt's Creek, and how would that change him?_

_This is a Patrick x OC fic - with someone built around challenging, embracing and supporting Patrick as he goes through this REALLY HUGE change in his life. I know, I know we aren't fans of OCs but I ask for you to give them, and particularly Leo a chance. I'm playing the long game here, so expect a lot of fluff and love but in bite sized bits as Patrick and Leo get to know one another :) Point of View will be shifting between Patrick & Leo depending on what's going on - Starting with Leo just so ya'll can get to know him I've watched things grow between Leo and Patrick over multiple chapters, have really fallen in love with them and I hope you do too :)_

_Expect some minor smut in later chapters that I couldn't include on FFnet. Comments and critique are always encouraged. I'm ahead by about 6 chapters so hoping to update consistently on a weekly basis until its finished._

_\---------------------_

Leo sat quietly at his grandmother's large country dining table, the morning sun gently creeping into the kitchen as if it was a reminder akin to" get up and get a move on." as his grandmother so lovingly used to put it. He always knew this day would come, but it wasn't until this moment did he realize how blissfully unprepared he was. By sheer force of will he made it through Grandma's funeral mostly unscathed. It was draining in more way than one; not only was Leo organizing the event as the only family member present, but he was greeted by dozens of people from his past that he had not seen for years. As at least several other people mentioned to him during the wake, it would have been so nice to reconnect if under other circumstances.

Leo had only been back to Schitt's Creek once in the last decade, instead preferring to fly his grandmother to New York City. He knew she enjoyed the dazzle of it all and welcomed a change of pace from life in Schitt's Creek. Leo had spent most of his high school years living here with his grandmother and genuinely enjoyed the experience of living in a small town. It was filled with hard working and genuinely kind people unlike anywhere he had lived before - and definitely nothing like New York City or Montreal. Yet here he was, surrounded by Grandma Maxine's belongings and a huge laundry list of things to do.

First on this list, Get up and Get a move on.

Leo got up and checked all the cupboards for any remnants of coffee present - he knew this was an effort in futility as Maxine had not had coffee for at least four years. Doctor's orders. In a similar form of desperation, searched 'Starbucks' in his map app. There was a Starbucks in Elmdale, about an hour away. Leo really did consider the thought of driving all the way to Elmdale, but ultimately acquiesced. Leo quickly got dressed, resorting to a simple black v neck T-shirt and jeans. He took a longer look in the mirror than normal...Leo turned 30 this year, and he feared it was beginning to show. His olive complexion seemed slightly paler than usual, small bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and 5:00 shadow began to grow into more of a stubble. He examined his curly brown hair for any traces of grey in a moment of insecurity but quickly moved on. In NYC, land of models the rich and famous Leo never felt comfortable with his appearance, but here in Schitt's Creek he was a solid 7. That would do for a coffee at Cafe Tropical.

It was a short drive before he parked and entered the diner. The sound of clinking silverware and plates with quiet chatter overtook Leo as he examined the interior. Black and white tiled floors, these odd yellow booth seats complete with a tropical mural against one wall. He couldn't help but smile for a brief moment; Leo spent many mornings, days and evenings here growing up. He remembered when his friends would come order a single drink to just sit for hours and chitchat, much to the chagrin of the owners. Leo was unceremoniously interrupted from his reminiscing as her heard a familiar voice "Leo?"

He looked in the direction of a beautiful young woman, shoulder length brown hair and freckles standing behind the bar and smiled. "Hey Twyla." Said Leo

She smiled and walked from behind the bar to bring Leo into a gentle embrace which he took without hesitation. Twyla and Leo had known each other growing up, and while maybe not close friends, had always been friendly. While they were still hugging she said to him "I'm so sorry for your loss Leo. Maxine meant so much to all of us..."

Leo took a brief step back and smiled, as he had gotten very accustomed to doing. "Thanks Twy, I really appreciate it" Leo said, hoping the topic would change soon.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to the service..." Twyla gestured toward the restaurant "I couldn't find anyone to take my shift since everyone went. I thought about closing you know, but in case everyone wanted to come here afterward it just seemed." Twyla added hurriedly.

"Really its not a problem. She would have understood." Leo said has he took a seat in one of the stools at the bar as Twyla followed suit. "My grandma told me you run the place now. That's awesome."

"Oh yea, thanks. It's a lot of work but its been busy, I can barely keep up on mornings like this!" Twyla added, as Leo looked around to see only three tables taken and a gentleman one seat away at the bar. "Can I get you anything by the way?"

"Just a black coffee for now."

"Sure I'll get to you in just a couple minutes. Brewing up a fresh cup now." Twyla affirmed and then quickly went to wait on the other tables.

Leo took this opportunity to pull out his phone and began reading through emails. He put everything on hold when he heard about his grandmother's condition without a second of hesitation. Leo owned and operated one of the most successful Floral Design companies in NYC; it catered to a rich, famous and exceptionally particular clientele. It was his firm's job to make dreams come true...and he was very good at it. To the shock of his partners, Leo announced a temporary sabbatical to return to Schitt's Creek. He was still involved in the creative consultation and overall direction of the firm, but assigned a creative director to own the more day-to-day operations. It was a terrifying prospect, but Leo couldn't help but feel a sense of relief after the deed had been done.

Twyla eventually returned and filled his cup. They exchanged some more pleasantries; she had questions about his life in New York while Leo asked about some of their mutual acquaintances over the years. Amidst discussing life in New York, she revealed some new residents recently arrived from NYC. They were apparently 'a really big deal,' which he quickly dismissed. Just about anyone coming from NYC, or any city for that matter would be considered a 'really big deal' here in Schitt's Creek. Twyla sensed his disinterest in the topic and went back to general upkeep across the restaurant.

sat quietly and looked down at his coffee, steam slowly evaporating into the air. He prepared himself for the worst, despite everyone swearing by diner coffee it had just never been his thing. Bottom's up. Bitter, smokey and dark but not too intense. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation or caffein withdrawal, but it was a damn good cup of coffee. He could feel a smile creeping up on his face as he took it all in, and for the first time in a week felt truly at peace.

"That good, huh?" Leo heard from a masculine voice to his right, causing him to quickly look in that direction. He looked up to find a handsome man, around 5'8 light brown hair with warm brown eyes. He was wearing a button up T-Shirt and khaki's and looking in Leo's direction with a small grin.

Leo flashed him before brashly asking "What?"

A bit taken aback, the man said "Oh, just saw you smiling after the coffee. Hit the spot?"

"Oh." Leo hesitated - quickly forgetting where he was and suddenly feeling apologetic. Attempting an olive branch Leo made sure Twyla was out of earshot before saying "It did, but...Be honest, is it that good or was I just a little desperate?"

The man smirked and responded in an equally hushed tone "Probably a bit of both and then shifted in his seat slightly with a somber change of expression. "Hey...I don't mean to eavesdrop, but I just wanted to say I knew Maxine pretty well. I'm really sorry for your loss…she was a great woman"

That took Leo by surprise, but quickly and graciously thanked him. Leo looked toward the gentleman and asked how he knew Maxine, expecting the most common answer. His grandmother owned and operated the Schitt's Creek general store. In a city with just one general store and the nearest Real Canadian Superstore an hour's drive in Elmdale, most people knew Maxine. She ran that the store on her own for the last 30 years, frequently manning the store from open to close.

"Oh I used to help her out with the store sometimes. Stuff like her taxes and the licenses needed."

His grandmother would talk about this gentleman often who would help her with the shop. Leo had offered multiple times to help hire an accountant or general support to help run her business but she always declined. She used to take care of all that by herself, but over the last two years there was a 'nice young gentleman' who helped her out with all of this. "She would talk about you a lot. I'm sorry though, what's your name? I'm Leo."

"Patrick. I've heard a lot about you. Nice to meet ya." and extended his hand with a warm smile.

Leo took Patrick's hand and shook - it was gentle - and unexpected from a straight white man hailing from a small town, but it was a welcome surprise.

"So when are you heading back to New York?" Leo asked casually as took one of the final bites out of his omelet. Leo paused and gave him an apprehensive look following the question and Patrick clearly clocked his expression "I told you, lots of stories."

Leo laughed "Sorry you had to sit through all that." Even as he said it, Leo could hear the sadness in his voice. He knew his grandma was a chatterbox, but what he wouldn't give to hear another one of her stories. It felt unfair to criticize her. "I'm not sure. There's a ton of stuff to do with the store, and honestly, I'm not really in a rush to go back"

"Really? Didn't expect that. Most people want to just get out of here"

"It's easy to take for granted some of the things here. New York isn't all its cracked up to be. If you had commented about my coffee like that to a new yorker, "Fuck you" would be probably be the most likely response you'd get."

Patrick laughed and nodded softly "Not really my speed. Was work cool with you heading here for a while? Maxine would always say how busy you were with work."

Although Patrick didn't intend to insult, Leo knew that "too busy with work" was most certainly code for "doesn't call enough." Despite his best efforts, he knew he could have been a better grandson; he was generous with his money but could have been moreso with his time. It was clear their weekly calls were not quite enough for her.

"Well, I own the company so they have to be I guess. People weren't thrilled but they'll get over it." Leo said definitively.

"What do you again, event planning?"

"Close. I run a Floral Design company."

"Ah that's right." as Patrick gave Leo a one-over "Huh."

Leo raised one eyebrow and looked toward Patrick. People tended to make wild judgements when they heard of his line of work, and Leo's expression was abundantly clear: Tread Carefully.

Patrick raised both his hands "You just look a little...punk rock? For flowers"

That wasn't the response Leo had expected, he felt oddly flattered, but knew with certainty that he did not look punk rock. Maybe it was the leather bomber he thought to himself, or the fact that hew as wearing something other than plaid. "Well, I'll take that as a compliment."

Patrick nodded and smiled "You should."

The two of them continued to discuss small talk over the next ten minutes as Leo finished his coffee and Patrick worked over the omelet – although the content of their conversation was harmless they were connecting in an unexpected way. Leo noticed the amount of eye contact was peculiar – but it excited him.

Leo gestured toward an empty stool that sat between the two men "Do you mind if I move over? Better than yelling across the room."

Patrick looked toward his empty plate then checked his watch "Oh man, I would but I really need to get to work-"

"Oh. Totally. I get it. Well it was nice meeting you" Leo said, flushed and sat back down suddenly into his seat. He felt a bitter sting or rejection and immediately began to over analyze the entire dialogue. His request was innocent enough. Sure. He was absurdly single and yes, Patrick was handsome, but Leo had long accepted Schitt's Creek would be the last place he got any action. Did Patrick think Leo was coming onto him?

Patrick nodded warmly, taking a card out of his wallet and sliding it across the bar to Leo. "It was nice meeting you too. If you need help with the store or something, let me know. You might be a bit over your head with everything at the store, working on Maxine's taxes was...and experience."

Leo lifted his head back and muttered to no one but himself "Fuuuuuck."

Patrick laughed "Hope to see you around Leo." Patrick said, before finalizing his bill with Twyla and leaving the cafe.

Leo nodded and watched Patrick leave, assessing intently before coming to a certain judgement. _Definitely straight_ he thought to himself with a deep sigh. Leo cupped the coffee that had began to grow lukewarm in his hands and cracked a small smirk. The brief conversation lifted his mood in an unexpected way and Leo found himself thinking more about Patrick as emotions began to crack at his hardened exterior.

"Hmm.." Leo said out loud with a smile.

"You seem to be in a good mood Leo" Twyla remarked from behind the bar.

Leo nodded, his face feeling flushed "Just a good start to the day."


	2. Happy Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we are - Chapter 2!
> 
> Like I had mentioned in the intro, we're taking this a little slow between Patrick and Leo but we start to see some of that intensity build up! Next chapter will be from Patrick's PoV finally - which I'm really excited to share.
> 
> Feedback always encouraged. Please enjoy! :)

It took several days for Leo to summon the strength to bring himself to the general store. Upon arriving, he looked at the sign made out of red and white wood that elegantly said "Schitt's Creek General Store." He knew it was more than a moment before he moved; Leo had many memories surrounding this store. Not only was it where he spent substantial time with his grandmother, but it was his first job, his friend's would visit frequently, and it even was the place of his first kiss; a detail he intended to keep to the grave.

Leo unlocked the door and it opened with a quiet retaliatory creek followed by the familiar jingle of several platinum bells that danced across the doorknob of the interior. He took his time as he walked through the various isles that remained in pristine condition despite everything his grandma's had been dealing with over the last 6 months. He smiled as he walked past a "Meet the SCGS Team!" a colorful and crafty board at the ending corner of the room. Truth be told, it was less a 'meet the team' and more of a 'meet everyone who has ever worked at SCGS in the last 30 years.' Leo scanned the board carefully before falling upon a familiar visage - a skinny 15 year old boy with gelled back hair complete with a puka shell necklace. Leo swallowed a grimace and fought the urge to take the picture down. _It's been up here for fifteen years what does another few days hurt?_ he thought to himself.

Leo had underestimated the amount of work that needed before he was even able to open doors for the final sale. Leo lost hours of his life humming to light rock FM hits, every item in their iPad point of sale system to reduce prices to clear out the store. There was something comforting around the repetitive motion of data entry, interrupted by brief solaces from his constant companion, Tofu, a great dane sleeping lazily in the corner. 

A strong sense of accomplishment and finality rushed through him as he selected the last item, pressing 'enter' to apply a 50% discount. He scanned the front page diligently to ensure everything was completed until a small green button in the bottom left corner caught his eye: 'Apply 50% discount to all items.'

"Fuck" Leo said exasperatedly, causing Tofu to look up from his bed with ice blue eyes before quickly drifting back into slumber.

Denial.

Anger.

Bargaining.

Depression.

and finally, after a little too long, acceptance.

Yea, this was a good time to walk away. He couldn't shake the sinking guilt that pitted in his stomach every step of the way; Leo was excited for this all to be over with, but it felt wrong to look forward to closing out his grandma's legacy. It didn't help that each person he reminded of the store closing of course unintentionally, brought up how sad Maxine would be to have the store close. More than a few caught themselves, Leo was never good at hiding what he was thinking, with a "Oh but if anyone would close it, she would want it to be you Leo."

Spoiler – that didn’t help much.

It took several more days of preparation before he was actually able to open the store, but waiting seemed to generate a certain buzz about...DISCOUNTS. Benefits of being in such a small town, word of mouth was an amazingly effective marketing tool as long as the right people were made aware. Plus, Leo knew people of Schitt's Creek loved a good discount.

Leo couldn't help but smile as a few people waited outside the door just a few minutes before opening. _Maybe this is all going to work out_ he encouraged himself before doing one final run through giving Tofu an antler to chew on and then, almost in a celebratory manner opened the door with a smile "Good morning! Come on in."

There were some familiar faces who exchanged pleasantries and hugs. Everyone, Leo included, seemed to be relieved that the reunion this time around wasn't at a funeral, although the circumstances were similarly grim. A middle aged woman who Leo didn't recognize walked up with a basket full of candles and several specialty baking flours.

Leo smiled from the register "Did you find everything ok?"

"Oh no issues at all. I did notice that these candles were marked at 2 dollars each, since the store is closing how about a dollar each?"

"Sorry - ticketed is the final discounted price" Leo said, warmly but firmly.

"Maxine was always open to updating the price though" she said tersely with a newfound confidence.

Leo merely nodded his head toward a sign in a bright orange, delightfully 70's font that read "TAG PRICE. FINAL PRICE." The patron acquiesced and proceeded with the sale, providing each other a passive aggressive 'goodbye' as she left the store.

Leo tapped impatiently at the register - he had forgotten the hours of silence with nothing to do when working at the store. Good news - smart phones are now a thing so he spent most of his time scrolling through emails and casually checking social media. There was only so much fiddling and rearranging before he began to succumb to the boredom, pulling something from his pocket curiously to see a stark white business card labeled 'Patrick Brewer, Business Consultant.' Leo played with it, letting himself reminisce on their conversation earlier in the week before he was abruptly pulled out of the moment from a shriek "Oh my god! What is THAT?"

Leo immediately got up and rushed to the back corner of the store where he saw a familiar man; tall, wearing and oversized Comme de Garcon sweater and taking deep, fearful breaths. Next to him was a shorter woman with dark brown hair that he immediately recognized as Stevie Budd; she was a couple years younger than him but they attended the same school while growing up. The man was glaring in Tofu's direction - meanwhile Tofu had not even been bothered to wake up from his nap despite the scream.

"Is everything OK?" Leo asked concerned with what was coming next.

"Oh everything is fine, I just didn't expect a beast to be in the middle of the store." he said exasperatedly.

"You mean dog?"

"Sure. A giant feral dog."

"Yea he really looks dangerous" Stevie remarked.

Leo smiled "He's harmless. I'm keeping him here while I'm at the store all day." Leo said, then turning to Stevie "Hey Stevie. How's it going?"

"Hey Leo." She nudged the man next to her "This is David."

Leo looked David over again and couldn't shake the familiarity to him. He extended his hand "Nice to meet you David, you know, you look really familiar."

"Oh I'm not from here." David responded quickly and definitively.

"David is from the _New York_." Stevie said, doing jazz hands as she said it with a blank expression.

That was it - Leo couldn't help but grin to the point where he covered his mouth and just nodded.

"What?" David asked in a tone that made Leo wonder if he was just perpetually offended about _something_.

"David Rose?" Leo asked in a knowing tone.

"Uh, yea." David responded - already sounding tired of this conversation.

"Ahh, company actually did all the floral work for your family's holiday party the last few years." Leo's smile was unwavering.

"Isn't that nice." David responded with a smile so insincere even Stevie laughed.

"What a small world! You'll have to tell me all about what David was like in his element" Stevie remarked

"Not necessary" David said

"Oh probably not all that different. Although I do distinctly remember you screaming at one of my interns for using Leyland Cedar instead of Pine for one of our arrangements." Looking at David knowingly. It had been over a year since it occurred, which is probably why he could approach it with humor instead of the outright aggression he felt for months after the incident.

"Oh that doesn't sound like him at all." Stevie laughed

"You know, maybe if they followed directions, I wouldn't have had to put her in her place."

"Your mother specifically requested Leyland Cedar...don't ask me how I remember, but she said..." Leo immediately changed his voice to add a terrible accent "Now don't you dare include any pine in this home, we don't want people thinking we are country bumpkins now would we!"

The group of them continued to chat casually as the atmosphere became a little casual, with both David and Leo warming up to each other. Stevie was still Stevie. Leo went back to help a few customers check out while Stevie and David continued to look around, embroiled in an intense dialogue.

“If you think you could do better, do it.”

“What?”

“I mean do it – open up a store. You’re obviously passionate about it and this place is closing.

“No, uh…Huh.” David sounded uncertain.

Leo sat at the counter during this dialogue – while he didn’t fancy himself to be nosy or an eaves dropper – it was a small store and almost impossible to ignore conversations taking place. He waffled back and forth about saying something, offering some sort of support or guidance but decided it would be best to leave it alone. Both Stevie and David said a brief goodbye on their way out. Neither bought anything. Figures.

The rest of the day carried along at a consistent pace, with customers trailing in throughout the afternoon. Leo looked at his phone and let out a sigh of relief, with just two minutes to go this very long day was approaching its end. Standing from the stool, he went to give Tofu some much needed love. The Dane grunted and rolled onto his back, revealing his belly, further confirming that Leo ignored him a little too much today; Leo happily obliged. This was Tofu's first time in Schitt's Creek, and it was clear he was acclimating to the space well. Finally, there was space for activities.

Leo stood to turn the sign from 'open' to 'closed' before hearing a haunting jingling from the door - he briefly looked at his watch which read 8:02 PM - 2 minutes after close and began to whisper "motherfu--"

There stood Patrick, wearing a dark blue a navy button down that was just open enough to make it casual with well fitted jeans. He smiled briefly and took a deep breath as if winded "Hey." he said softly.

"Hey." Leo smiled - his voice carrying a confidence that he had forgotten during their first interaction.

Patrick caught his breath after a moment and laughed "Glad I made it, was worried you'd have closed up for the day."

"Just barely" Leo tapped his watch "Only a few minutes after closing" he said with a smirk and walked past Patrick, the two of them made eye contact that lingered as Leo walked closer. There was something in those brown eyes that spoke volumes to Leo, but he couldn't quite decipher it, and in an attempt to make this interaction slightly less weird, Leo slipped past him and slipped the sign from 'open' to 'closed.' before returning to the register.

"Oh shit I'm sorry you were closing up, I can head out--"

"Nah, don't worry about it. What were you looking for?"

Patrick's expression went blank and Leo could visibly see the gears turning before quickly grabbing a the nearest thing to him, which happened to be a pack of batteries. "Um. Just some batteries, and maybe just look around."

Leo nodded with a smirk "Definitely don't want to be without batteries"

Patrick returned the nod and grinned knowingly while pacing across an isle within eyesight of the register where Leo was seated, casually looking up and down the quickly emptying merchandise. "So how did today go?"

"Sold way more than expected actually, so hopefully we'll be finished in a week or so. I just need to figure out what the hell is going on with the bookkeeping."

"What do you mean?"

Leo shook his head, his eyes filled with contempt as he began to ruffle with a series of papers and notebooks hidden in a crevice under the counter. Eventually he brought out four large notebooks with post-it notes, notecards and random papers shoved in every which direction with a sizeable 'slam.'

“I know you mentioned helping my grandma out with some stuff – are you in a rush or do you have a few minutes?”

"I don't have anything going on." Patrick said before walking over to the register.

Leo leaned in so Patrick could see. They both huddled around a bright blue spiral notebook labeled ‘2016-2018.’ They sat close and Leo could smell Patrick’s cologne, a distraction that filled him with pause, before he shook it off and opened the notebook.

Leo began flipping through the pages somewhat absentmindedly, giving both of them an opportunity to scan the content. Each page had a series of scribbles in barely legible Franglish, with columns, roman numerals and regular numbers with no seeming rhyme or reason. Leo pushed the book forward toward Patrick who started to flip through pages himself

"Wow" said Patrick, stunned.

"That's not it!" Leo said, holding up an orange spiral notebook that said '2016-2019' and began to flip through pages that may not have been identical to the first notebook, but just as nonsensical. "You're looking at 2016-2018, but if this one is 2016-2019 what does that mean?" Leo said, rubbing his eyes in frustration.

"She showed me something familiar for her taxes last year. We just need to find the legend." Patrick said confidently as he flipped through the pages quickly.

"Legend? Like for a puzzle? Are you fucking with me?" Leo was speechless and uncertain whether he should laugh or cry as he flipped through the pages vigorously.

"Imagine how I felt when she told me the day before taxes were due. At least she gave me the legend up front."

Patrick took an inventory of everything in front of the two men, shifting his glance to the business to the white business card on the counter and smiled looking up at Leo. Leo noticed the interaction and grinned – there was silence between as they both acknowledged the moment before moving onto the task at hand.

Leo glanced at Patrick who was currently unfolding a newspaper sized piece of paper filled with what could be best described as a manually drawn excel spreadsheet. He watched as Patrick's brown eyes went back and forth with intensity, attempting make sense of the manuscript - his eyes then shifted their cadence and looked directly at Leo.

"What?" Patrick asked

Leo quickly shook his head "Nothing. Look, this is obviously a bigger undertaking than I thought." he looked at his watch, the blue face shining at him and reading 8:33 PM "Want to give you an out if you're not up for it."

"Oh I'm up for it." Patrick said with complete confidence.

“Competitive are we?” Leo teased.

“I like to win.” Patrick nodded

"Can I get you a drink at least?"

"What are my options? Chocolate milk or coke?" Patrick said jokingly, gesturing toward the soda cooler in the corner of the store.

Leo kneeled behind the counter and procured two whiskey tumblers etched with intricate designs, followed by a mostly full bottle of Canadian rye whiskey. "I was thinking something a little more adult" and then immediately poured generous portions in each tumbler and handed to Patrick.

Patrick’s eyes widened, looking at the whiskey but took the glass from Leo and for just a moment their fingers touched…electricity between them. “Well that’s a nice surprise.” Patrick mused.

Leo then raised his glass and looked at Patrick with a smug grin "To nice surprises."

Patrick smiled at Leo, a slight warmth rising over his face as he began to flush a faint shade of pink. He clinked Leo’s glass, all the while looking directly into his pale green eyes "To nice surprises."


End file.
